If it makes her happy
by DemiGardess
Summary: The woes of a first year foolish enough to try and date Mirai Kuriyama. Outsider POV, I'll-be-here-verse.


His name was Kaito Tanaka. Tanaka written as _rice field_, Kaito written with the characters for _sea_ and _pass over_.

The ridiculously common name fit his ridiculously common face. He knew two other Kaito's in the same year, and seven other people with the same last name.

Well, it could've been worse. He'd known a pair of twins called Minato and Naruto Uchiha in elementary school.

Oh man, this went way off topic.

Back to modern day. Nagatsuki High school. Third row, second seat from the left. Sitting next to his friend Taki Tachibana (_standing flower_, _waterfall_), who was trying not to laugh at Kaito for watching a girl in the first row.

He'd been looking the pink-haired girl for a while now.

She was pretty. He couldn't help it.

When the teacher left them free to choose their own groups in Home Economics, he approached her for the first time.

"Can I go with you?" He asked "Uh, my friends already have groups."

He pretended to not see his friend laughing at him. It wasn't like Taki had any room to talk, everyone knew that he was head-over-heels for Mitsuha Miyamizu (_water palace, three-leaf_) in class 2.

"O-okay!" She said, nodding.

Another girl joined the group, and they went to the teacher to be marked down.

"Kuriyama, Inami and you?" The teacher confirmed, looking over her clipboard.

"Yes." He said.

"You can go in the red kitchen."

~oOo~

By the end of the lesson, he'd learned her name.

Mirai Kuriyama (_future_, _chestnut mountain_).

The other girl was a friend of hers. Sakura Inami (_cherry blossom_, _this wave_)

Before long, he realised that he had a crush on Kuriyama.

His friends laughed like hyenas.

"About time!" Ayato (_capital city_) crowed

"Should I ask her out?" He asked, nervously pulling at his tie "What if she says no?"

"Gotta risk it for the biscuit!" Ayato said.

One of his quieter friends tugged on his sleeve for his attention. Another Kaito (_sea, square bearing block_), which got confusing. They just called this one Nagai (_eternity, well_).

"I'll leave my phone on, if you want." Kaito offered "And I've got some ice cream in the back of my fridge if it goes that badly."

"Thanks."

~oOo~

The problem was that Kaito was, at heart, the biggest procrastinator to ever exist. He dithered and hesitated, and was the sort to be given a week to do an assignment and cram it all the day before he had to submit it.

So that was how he found himself hanging around a shopping centre an hour after school had finished, death staring Ayato (who had followed him to see what would happen), and watching the cheap ramen store that he'd seen Kuriyama go into ten minutes ago.

Did he really want to ask her out? What if she said no? What if she wouldn't speak to him again? What if he completely ruined what could become a totally platonic friendship? What if she hated him? What if that scary friend of hers went after him? He'd seen first-year girls get angry, it was a sight to behold from a great distance. Emphasis on great. Preferably around the size of your average football fie-

A hand came down on his shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Kaito looked up to see a second-year from the same high school as him, top button undone and red tie loosened. He had blonde hair, and a pleasantly neutral expression.

"What're you doing?" The second year asked, the grip on his shoulder tightening. There was a glint in his brown eyes that told the first-year that his answer had better be good.

"Uh…uh…" Was all Kaito managed to stutter out.

"Scouting out a girlfriend?"

The second-year's grip was tightening on Kaito's shoulder.

_Crap, was this the big brother?_

It wouldn't be completely unreasonable. Blonde hair dyed easily, and they both had roughly the same eye colour.

Kaito shot to his feet with enough force to dislodge the second-year's hand.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out "She's pretty and smart, and I don't stand a chance with her! I'm sorry, I won't ask her-"

"I'm not telling you to not take the chance." The second-year said bluntly "I'm saying that you had better treat her well, and make her happy."

Wait.

Was this a shovel talk?

Did this mean that he had big brothers approval, and was not going to be hunted down and killed?

"What I'm also saying is that if you even attempt to hurt her, _I will find you_."

Spoke too soon.

~oOo~

**_Message Sent to KAITO NAGAI at 5:32PM:_**

_SHE SAID YES!_

_WE'RE GONNA GO OUT FOR TAOYAKI TOMORROW!_

_*taiyaki_

**_Message Received from KAITO NAGAI at 5:34PM:_**

_thats great!_

_P.S. dont come to me for dating advice ive never had a girlfriend._

_ask taki_

_wanna come over for celebratory ice-cream?_

**_Message Sent to KAITO NAGAI at 5:35PM:_**

_Sure_

_See u in 10_

~oOo~

"What _are_ you doing, you crazy meganest?" Mitsuki asked, watching with raised eyebrows as Akihito huddled by the window and spied on somebody.

"Keeping an eye on Kuriyama and that first-year she's dating." the half-youmu replied, lifting the blinds to get a better look.

Mitsuki's eyebrows rose even higher.

"You care _why_?"  
"You don't just _forget_ about what we had!" Akihito replied hotly, bolting upright.

_He really loved her, _Mitsuki thought.

"Tell you what," She said after a few seconds of deliberation "I have an interest in Mirai Kuriyama's safety as well. Should this first-year become a threat, there will _be_ no first-year. How does that sound?"

"Great." Akihito said with a small, genuine smile.

_As much as it hurts him to see her with another guy, he's not doing any because it's making her happy._

_He's…actually a good guy._

_MEMORY ERASE, COMMENCE!_

She looked back up just in time to see Akihito make the classic _I'm watching you_ sign, presumably at the first-year.

After a few seconds, he added an extra jab. _Yeah, you!_

"You know that you look like even more of a pervert when you do that, right?"

~oOo~

"Do you have any siblings?" Kaito asked, watching Kuriyama struggle with the lid of her drink. He mutely offered his hand, as she passed it to him.

"No, I'm an only child." Kuriyama said, taking the now open bottle back from him.

"Really?" Kaito asked, surprised "Then who was the guy who terrorised me?"  
_…I said that out loud_.

"Oh?" Kuriyama asked, also surprised "I don't…I don't know. Sorry, Tanaka-san."

"There's no need to apologise!" Kaito blurted "I…never mind, what other stuff are you interested in?"

"I really like bonsai!" Kuriyama said, and holy hell had Kaito just opened a floodgate? He could practically see the stars in her eyes.

"Bonsai, huh?" Kaito mused "I'd never have the patience to do something that fiddly. I'm a dojo kid all the way."

"Karate?"

"Tessenjutsu." Kaito said with a hint of pride "Lots of guys say it's really girly, but I think it's cool. How many people can say that they know how to beat up someone with a fan?"

"That is pretty cool." Mirai agreed.

"How about I show you mine if you show me yours?"

A second passed until Kaito realised how that had sounded.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!"

Within seconds, they were laughing so hard that they got kicked out of the Taiyaki store.

~oOo~

Kaito ran into the second-year that had terrorised him in the shopping centre a few days later. Almost literally.

"You!" The second-year yelled, dropping the box he was carrying.

Kaito resisted the urge to jump out the nearest window.

"…me?" he asked.

"Yeah, you." The second-year confirmed "You're the one dating Kuriyama-san, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

_HolycrapisthiswhereIdie?_

"I need you to keep an eye out for someone." The second-year continued, looking very serious.

"Why?"

"We think that they're after Kuriyama."

A pang of worry ripped through him.

"What? Why? And who's _we_?"  
"I can't tell you." The second year said "I…don't really know what's going on, I just know that Kuriyama's in danger."

"Who do I need to keep an eye out for, then?" Kaito asked, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

"A person in a grey cloak that covers their face. They've been seen carrying a spear of a sort, and usually accompanied by…people covered in black."

_Do I even want to know why he hesitated on 'people'?_

"If you see them, you need to call me instantly." The second-year said "Tell me where you are and I'll pass it onto the people who can actually do something about this."

_XXX-XXX-XXX_

Akihito (_autumn man_) Kanbara _(original god_).

"Keep her safe." Kanbara said, before walking past Kaito and disappearing around the corner.

After a few seconds, he came running back, picked up the box, and left again.

_That's what you get for trying to be dramatic,_ Kaito thought with a small amount of smugness.

~oOo~

Later on, Kaito made the mistake of mentioning the encounter to his friends.

"You've got _Kanbara_ after your blood?" Taki asked, starting to laugh "And just when I thought I'd seen it all!"

"What's so funny?" Kaito grumbled, wanting very much to sink into his ramen and disappear.

"Kanbara's ridiculously chill about, like, everything. He's probably chiller than Hokkaido in the dead of winter."

"It's funny because Taemin would leave SHINEE before Kanbara gets mad at someone." Ayato interjected.

Kaito gave him a weird look.

"Ayato, Taemin did leave SHINEE."

"How would you know that? You don't even like K-pop."

"No, but Sherubi at the Tessenjutsu dojo does."

Turning a shade to match the mint-green walls of the cafe, Ayato frantically grabbed out his phone and started googling something.

"That's why I'm a BTS Army member." Taki said smugly "There's no way they'd break up BTS. Don't you agree, Kaito?"

"I...don't tend to follow foreign music groups." Kaito said with a nervous laugh "I like to understand what I'm listening to."

"SHINEE does Japanese songs." Ayato blurted at the exact same second that Taki said "BTS does Japanese songs."

Both friends glared at each other.

Kaito could almost feel the sweatdrop forming - he hadn't meant to set off an argument between the two K-pop fans.

"I think I'll stick with UVERworld and Hiroyuki Sawano." Kaito said nervously, dropping some of his noodles back into the bowl.

Ayato and Taki proceeded to engage in a very intense staring contest, which went for long enough to make Kaito debate whether or not he should throw his miso on one of them. But then he couldn't figure out which one to throw it on, and Taki blinked before he could reach a decision.

"HA!" Ayato yelled, pointing an accusing finger "This PROVES that the spirits of all SHINEE fans are not broken!"

"How does blinking prove that?" Taki shouted back "There was dirt in my eye!"

"Tanaka-san?"

Kaito tuned out on his arguing friends and turned to see Kuriyama standing nervously with her hands clasped.

Taki and Ayato instantly stopped their argument and turned to watch the proceedings with great interest.

"I was…I was wondering if you'd like to eat at Aiseriya with me tonight!" She asked, flushing bright red.

_Aiseriya…that's an American place near me…_

"Yeah, sure!" Kaito said with a genuine smile.

"Five?"

"That's good."

As Kuriyama walked away, he looked back to find Taki and Ayato staring at him with matching borderline-evil grins.

"…what?"

~oOo~

Kuriyama seemed preoccupied the night, picking at her food with nervous fingers.

"Is it too spicy?" Kaito asked. When she didn't answer, he continued

"I feel like I'm about to breathe fire!"

A small smile flitted across her face.

"Is there something else wrong?" Kaito pressed "Do you want to go home? I can walk you, if you'd like."

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Y-yes." She said, nodding "I want to go home. I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I don't feel well."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kaito asked, pulling out his wallet and paying the bill. He repressed a cringe at the price. Just short of 3,000 yen. Oh man, his wallet was going to feel that later.

They walked in relative silence.

"Oh, wow!" Kuriyama cried out a few minutes into their walk.

"What?" Kaito asked, panicking for a second.

"Look at the cherry blossom trees!"

Laughing, she ran into the centre of the small park and spun around.

Kaito followed a little more sedately.

"I can't remember my past." Kuriyama said after a few minutes "The first thirteen years of my life are a blank slate. I can't remember who I was, who my family was, anything."

_Uh…how am I supposed to respond to that?_

Reading his expression, Kuriyama smiled a little sadly.

"I thought you should know that, if this relationship is going to continue."

_…__still don't know how to respond._

The sound of loudly flapping cloth made Kaito spin around.

A figure walked towards them, a grey cloak flapping around them. A long object was held in one of their hands, sharpened at both ends.

_"__We think that they're after Kuriyama."_

_"__A person in a grey cloak that covers their face. They've been seen carrying a spear of a sort,"_

Kaito ripped his phone out of his pocket, stumbling backwards as the person advanced.

_Of all times for Touch ID to fail,_ he thought angrily, _it HAD to be now!_

He slammed the _call_ button repeatedly, backing further away. He turned to run, following Kuriyama. _Man_, she was fast.

"_What?_" Came the instant reply.

"That person appeared!" Kaito yelled into the phone "The one with the grey cloak."

"_Where are you?!_" Kanbara shouted instantly. It sounded like he'd broken into a run.

"Uh…a park just off Azaru-dori!"

"_Run away! Get out of there, now! Leave your phone on so I can find you!_"

"I am running!" Kaito shouted.

"_Then run faster, I dunno!_" Kanbara yelled "_You'll run faster if you're not talking, just put the phone back in your pocket! I'll catch up!_"

So Kaito ran. Breath rasping in his lungs, legs starting to burn, and the figure not seeming to fall behind.

He could feel himself starting to flag, and he could see Kuriyama starting to stumble as well.

Oh, he would kill for a _tessen_ right now.

_Six years of training_, he thought, _and the one time I need a weapon, I don't have one._

After this day, he was gonna carry his damn _tessen_ everywhere with him. He didn't care if he had to sew pockets into his clothes.

Kanbara got the drop on them a few streets later, virtually jumping out of nowhere and falling into step beside the two of them.

"Just a little while longer!" he called.

_How the hell…do you have…enough breath….to yell at us?_

Kaito's feet were starting to give out underneath him, the ground swooping around him. It felt like his throat had been plunged into the freezing hellscapes of Antartica, and every breath was a painful rasp.

He heard a shout, and then he was shoved forward. He hit the ground hard, rolling.

There was a horrible sound, the likes of which he'd only ever heard in horror movies before, followed by a cry from Kanbara and a scream from Kuriyama.

Kaito scrambled to his feet with bloody hands, and nearly screamed.

The person had thrown their spear, and…

well…

_ohmygodimgonnathrowup._

Kanbara had been hit.

The spear went right through his chest, right where someones heart would be. There was blood on Kanbara's pullover jumper, blood on the ground, and his eyes were open and surprised and-

Kaito barely turned away before he threw up.

Blue-green light flared, and he spun around.

Another man had arrived some time in the two seconds Kaito had taken to allow his dinner to vacate his body, dressed in some sort of suit-and-coat-combo. His gloved hands were held out in front of him, and a box of blue-green light was encasing the figure who had chased them.

As Kaito watched, the figure in the box raised a hand and made some sort of swiping motion.

A high-pitched bang, a noise like glass shattering, and a flash of white light.

The box shattered, and the figure disappeared.

"He broke my cage like it was nothing…" The man said, seeming at a loss. He stood for a few seconds, before turning on his heel.

"Akkey! You okay?"  
Kaito just about screeched when Kanbara opened baleful brown eyes to glare at the taller man.

_Ohmygod how is he not dead I thought he was dead he was _**_definitely_** _dead oh god oh god oh god._

"Do I _look_ okay?" Kanbara hissed through gritted teeth, jabbing a finger at the spear currently impaling him "Help me out, would you?"

With a sickening squelch, the man pulled the bloody spear out.

More bile rose in Kaito's throat, and he could hear Kuriyama retching.

"Oh, sorry." Kanbara apologised "I didn't realise how nasty that might be."

"How unpleasant." Kuriyama squeaked out, hands shaking madly "Wh-who _was_ that?"

"We don't know!" The man said, airy voice sounding very forced "And by the way, Akkey, do you like my outfit? I got it to match your style of dress."

"What kind of fashion sense do you think I have, sis-con?"

"None."

"…aren't there more important things to talk about right now, Hiroomi?"

"Yes, I suppose." 'Hiroomi' said, hefting the spear "Like I just said, we still have no-"

He stopped mid-sentence, squinting at the spear.

"This is Izumi's!" He said slowly "Her…it has strong traces of her magic all over it?"

"_What_?" Kanbara asked "Are you _sure_?"

"I'll need to speak to Ayaka before I'm completely sure, but the chance is high. Who else could break my cage so easily?"

~oOo~

Much later in the evening, Kaito found himself alone with Kanbara.

His eyes kept being drawn to the blood staining the others jumper.

"You can just ask, you know." Kanbara said after a minute of awkward silence.

"I can?"

"Yeah. I can't promise that I'll know the answers, but go ahead."

"Why was that person after Kuriyama?"

"I…we suspect that it's for her power."

"…power?"

"What I'm going to tell you next _never_ leaves this room, understood?"

"Y-yes."

Why did Kaito feel like he'd not only opened, but also jumped headfirst into a gigantic can of worms.

"Has Kuriyama told you that she lost her memory?"

"Yes."

"She was once a Spirit World Warrior. The Warriors are human, and can wield supernatural powers. There are different clans of Warriors, each specialising in different forms of magic. Hiroomi's family, the Nase clan, specialise in Cages."

"What…what did Kuriyama's Clan specialise in?"

"Her clan were known as the Blood Clan. A while ago - I'm not sure exactly when - they were all wiped out. They were too powerful, or something of that ilk. I never asked her."

_How horrible. Just for their power?_

_Holy crap how am I thinking about this so logically._

"I met her last year, on the roof of the school. She'd been sent by Izumi Nase to kill me."

"Why did she want to kill you?"

Kaito couldn't picture Kuriyama killing anyone.

Well, rationally, he'd only known her for a few weeks. He wasn't able to get a judge of her character just from that.

"Spirit World Warriors exist to fight creatures known as _youmu_. They're essentially bad emotions - kind of like the phantoms from _Noragami_. Have you ever seen that show?"

"No."

"Ugh. Let's just say that they're the physical manifestations of peoples bad emotions. Hatred, rage, greed, the works."

"She came to kill you."

"Yes. That's how I met a lot of people. Hiroomi tried to murder me the first time we met."

"She…does that make you a _youmu_?"  
"I'm half." Kanbara says quietly "_Youmu_ father, Spirit World Warrior mother."

_How do I not phrase this badly…_

"Why didn't she kill you?"

"Oh, she tried. I can't die, I'm immortal."

_That explains earlier._

"Okay." Kaito said.

He felt a bit dizzy.

He could really use a lie-down.

~oOo~

Kaito woke up the next morning fully clothed and on top of his futon. A note was taped to the door handle, written on a torn-out page from one of his notepads. The writing looked like pencil, probably the one he always left next to the notepad in case he needed to quickly scribble something down before he forgot it.

_You passed out, _read unfamiliar handwriting.

_Kuriyama-san had your address, so we carried you back here. We had to climb in through the window, because you didn't have a key on you. What sort of idiot doesn't carry his house keys?_

_For the record, I talked Hiroomi out of breaking your door down. _

_If you still want to talk, you have my number. _

_For now, it'd be safer for the both of you if you stayed away from Kuriyama-san._

_You'll only get hurt, and Izumi may target you in an attempt to get at her._

_Remember what I said: what was said last night doesn't get repeated. She wanted out of the Spirit World Warriors, and she's out now, so _**_don't you dare_**_drag her back into it._

_And thanks for making her happy._

~oOo~


End file.
